Council Asks Schools To Speed Up Security Upgrades

Two Montgomery County councilmembers are asking Montgomery County Public Schools to speed up planned security upgrades for the system’s elementary schools.

Council President Nancy Navarro (D-East County) and Education Committee Chair Valerie Ervin (D-Silver Spring) sent a letter to Board of Education President Chris Barclay yesterday urging the Board to speed up installation of access control systems and camera systems in elementary schools.

The Council approved funding for advanced security systems in schools four years ago, with the the final elementary school systems being installed by the end of the 2013-2014 school year.

But in light of the Newtown, Conn., elementary school shooting and recent complaints from Montgomery County parents, Ervin and Navarro say the Council is prepared to fund an acceleration of the project.

The Gazette reported a group of parents from Bethesda’s Bradley Hills Elementary School sent a letter to MCPS superintendent Josh Starr asking the school’s temporary Radnor Center location be updated with doors that lock and a system to screen visitors.

The Board of Education took up the elementary security security issue at their meeting today.